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This is the main square in Kos Town. I rested the camera on a waste bin so I could use a long exposure for this shot. When I was busy with the camera and watching the general hubbub of people milling about I didn't notice the canoodling couple in the frame. When I saw the shot I was really pleased as I thought this image had potential.

I'd be grateful for any advice and opinions of whether I've managed to process the image ok - this shot hasn't been any where near Topaz!!

I saved 2 versions of the raw file - 1 at the cameras exposure, and tried to underexpose the 2nd shot to reduce the blown out bright lights. I then merged the two shots in Elements and selected individual areas to correct under/over exposure. The main lamp still looks blown out but that's the best I could do with it.

I also used the perspective tool to straighten the tower, cropped the LHS and also cloned out lens flare from the lights.

Looking at the shot now after I've uploaded it, I feel that the guy looking out of the frame on the LHS might be a distraction, and I'd be grateful for opinions of whether I should clone him out.

I've uploaded the original as a version to show what I've done in the processing for comparison.

Any advice will be gratefully received - Could I do any more to improve this shot?

Why f20??? The bigger the f value the smaller the opening of the lens>Less light>longer exposure or higher ISO>more noise possibly? Thankfully the prominent couple didn't move.
Yes I know, some romantics want that to last for ever.
Some are even happy for 1.6 seconds.
"So, they lived well and we lived even better".

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Why f20??? The bigger the f value the smaller the opening of the lens>Less light>longer exposure or higher ISO>more noise possibly? Thankfully the prominent couple didn't move.
Yes I know, some romantics want that to last for ever.
Some are even happy for 1.6 seconds.
"So, they lived well and we lived even better".

Forgetting the size of your aperture for a moment. Two wonderful variants of what looks like a rather special moment for this clearly 'loved up' couple. Version 1 being the better of the two.

Regards Nathan

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In your upload you've used the perspective tool, which is effectively the same as the distort tool but works in two directions at once, making the same adjustments.
Unfortunately, it also causes any unwanted distortion to be applied uniformly across the image and in this one, there's some 'stretching.'
Your canoodling couple have got wider and heavier!
In my first mod., I've used the distort tool on just the top left hand corner (again) and pulled it outwards and downwards a bit. That's straightened the tower without (hopefully) sending the lovers to weight watchers!
In mod.2, I used an alternative method. I selected just the top left hand corner of the shot, using the rectangular marquee tool and used the distort tool in exactly the same way but on only the selected area. That has the effect of straightening the tower and most of the building without affecting the rest of the shot at all because I haven't touched it.
The downside is that it might have caused some distortion in the building. At this size it's hard to tell.
Really, it's a matter of trying various ways and seeing which works best for the particular shot on which you're working.
I also made a slight curves adjustment to brighten it but your merged approach is a much better idea.

Hope this helps.

Bren.

Edit: looking at the mods. on here, I reckon that mod.2 works best and that I could have pulled the corner out even farther without doing any harm.

If you're going to have a go (you are, aren't you . . ?), that's the method, I'd use.

How are you today? Thanks for your PM, it was lovely to hear from you - I'll reply properly over the weekend.

Quote: Why f20???

My vision for the shot was to show the square lit up at night and people moving around, but I wanted the people to be blurred a little to show movement. I think shots like that look atmospheric. So I set the camera up on shutter priority and took shots at various speeds. Some of the shots I took look ok, and I managed to get the blurry, people moving around, kinda atmospheric look, but I liked this one because of the "canoodlers".

I think I had a bit of luck as they were stood in a good position in the frame and, as you say, they weren't moving. I have them on the previous shot to this one too - so it must have been quite a long kiss!!

Your help on the Distort Tool is much appreciated. In situations like this I have always used the transform tool........to be honest I hadn't noticed the distort tool. Thanks to you I have now though, and yes..............I've already had a go.

It's great - I've tried the marquee tool method also. These are two tips I'll surely use a lot from now on..........so thanks for your advice.

Quote: I reckon that mod.2 works best

Mod 1 just edges it for me.

Thanks for helping Bren.

Cheers

Elaine

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Hi Elaine,
The reason that I preferred mod.2 was that the tower's retained its 'roundness' better. In mod.1, there's a little distortion to the top of it.
I think that, using the marquee, you could pull the tower slightly more and it would still look OK.

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The bottom line is that this otherwise excellent image is not sharp enough. You did not need f20. F5.6 would still givea slow shutter speed in these circumstances but the new shutter speed would give a sharper image.

Paul

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